The father of a New Jersey teenage girl who committed suicide after a video of her circulated on social media, wants accountability.
Adriana Kuch, a 14-year-old student at the Central Regional High School in Berkeley, New Jersey was found dead at her home February 3, two days after being physically assaulted, police said. She killed herself after a video showing her being attacked by other girls in her high school circulated on social media.
The video posted on social media on February 1, shows Adriana with her boyfriend in her high school hallway, and Adriana being attacked by several female students with a water bottle. The video clip lasts about 20 seconds and shows one of the girls yelling at Adriana that she is a “stupid bitch” who deserves to be beaten up.
The unfortunate teen was kicked and punched as students laughed, watched, and recorded her attack on their cell phones.
Michael Kuch, the teen’s devastated dad, said his daughter committed suicide because of humiliation and that she had been bullied before.
The video was the last straw.
Kuch said that even though his daughter lost consciousness during the attack, the school did not call 911, but sent her to the nurse’s office. Her father later brought her to the police station to report the attack and show the police her injuries.
Police arrested four girls and charged three with felony assault in the third degree and one with disorderly conduct.
The superintendent of the school district told reporters that it wasn’t school protocol to call the police, as it was up to the parents to decide whether to press charges.
Kuch believes the school should have filed a police report immediately after the attack and hopes to see the attackers pay for their crimes that led to his daughter’s death.
Kuch also said that the Ocean County School District should be held accountable for not dealing with multiple instances of bullying and harassment in their schools. He said his daughter was a victim of bullying before.
Students exercised a walk-out protest from Central Regional High School to express their disappointment with the school’s handling of the bullying incident.
